Er, you can put any book onto a kindle without going through the amazon store. You don't even have to convert it to the .mobi format if you don't want to--it can read pdfs just fine, although the whole point of a .pdf is to reproduce a piece of paper, which doesn't work well with a screen with adjustable font sizes and the like. Use of the .mobi format is for ease.

No, Kindle doesn't support .epub, but why would it? You can convert any non-proprietary .epub with the same ease as a .pdf: it took me a matter of minutes to do that to my 80ish .epub collection, and then I just plug in my kindle and drag 'n' drop them right in. No need to go through Amazon at all.

And the Kindle now supports syncing of custom .mobi files anyway, so my bookmarks, notes, and progress are the same across my kindle, computers, and phone because they all have kindle apps on them. Why on earth wouldn't I want that? That's what you get through kindle: the content and the distributed medium. Apple, Android, and Windows Phone offer similar syncing potential (of documents, videos, and pictures) with their tablets: I haven't heard of anything similar with the kobo.

Amazon doesn't set the prices; publishers do. Perhaps it's easier to steal on another e-reader (doubtful), but that's something else. I don't see how any of your complaints accurately represent what's going on.

I remember when ebooks came in a dozen different formats, with a dozen different proprietary readers, and my ebook collection was a complete mess. I'm happy to have a one stop shop. My only annoyance is having to pay for books I physically own already, but there's no way out of that.

My comments represent what was going on when I started shopping around about a year ago - pdf support was brand new for the Kindle then and could only be done by emailing them via whispernet, also most libraries were lending only in .epub format (which couldn't be converted). I understand that libraries are beginning to lend in .mobi, but that's a very recent development. And besides, I'm responding to Jabba's claim that people want content pairing - which is inherently restrictive.

As for books I physically own, I "pirate" those. My omnibus copies of LOTR and Narnia and Hitchhiker's Guide are nice, but I don't feel any qualms about downloading e-copies of them so that I can actually read them somewhere comfortable.

Jello said:

I remember when ebooks came in a dozen different formats, with a dozen different proprietary readers, and my ebook collection was a complete mess. I'm happy to have a one stop shop.

They still do, you just apparently picked one and stuck to it, that's not representative of any external change.

My point was that there should definitely be a niche for the dedicated eReader, but that a lot of manufacturers are going to fail in the tablet market and should stick to making generic eReaders so that the coming tablet war between Amazon and Apple doesn't bankrupt them.

In Chicago there's a huge market for eReaders for people who don't want to have an actual iPad stolen on the "L". Having an old Nook nabbed is not such a big deal.

^There is nothing definite about it but the electronics market always favors versatile devices that handle everything as well as being simple, small and thin. I think stand alone e-readers will probably go the way of mp3 players and even point-n-shoot digital cameras. There are still lots of products in those markets but smartphones took away the major market share.

Valyn said:

Autonomous said:

Valyn said:

GrandAdmiralJello said:

Well, the Fire is a tablet--so yeah, it's quite different from the regular Kindle.

Kindle pdf support is... sketchy, as of the previous (pre-touch) version. I tend to convert .pdfs to .mobi files so that they properly scale, because zooming and scrolling on the keypad version of the kindle was a disaster. Since the pdfs reproduce documents exactly, there's not much you can do with them on any format without scrolling and zooming.

Pdfs on the nook color is the same nightmare of zooming and formatting hiccups.

Yeah, I think I need a tablet rather than solely an e-reader. Those problems worry me.

Seerow, thanks for mentioning the Lenovo A1. I have a Lenovo Thinkpad and really like it for the most part. That's definitely something I'll look into. It seems comparable in size and weight to the Fire, and has twice the memory. Might be the same price too if I buy it tomorrow.

I just downloaded the ezpdf reader app to my nook color. It makes reading pdfs so incredibly better! Totally worth the money.

That app is available for Android. I actually use it on my pathetic little Pantech Crossover with good success. I imagine it would be much better on any 7 inch tablet.

Let me know how the reading works under daylight: that's where the e-ink really shines, in my view (no pun intended).

Update: I got the chance to read a book in my Kindle Fire over the holidays. I didn't go out to sit in a park to read, instead I sat by the window during daytime and, as with any polished surface, light reflection from other sources becomes a problem. You have to find the right angle to read it and that is kind of annoying. When reading indoors, decreasing the screen brightness helps and I found out that it's easier on my eyes to turn the brightness all the way down -it doesn't get too dark.

I also tried to read in the car (while on the passenger seat, of course), and since it was daytime, I had to increase the screen brightness to be able to see it.

That's my experience with it so far. And btw, I am now reading The Hunger Games

So here's something about the Kindle (or other e-readers, for all I know). I was talking to somebody about The Hunger Games today, and said that I'm reading the second book right now. He asked me how far in I was. I responded "Oh, not far. 15%". This is what I've noticed. Since I bought my Kindle I've read every new book on it, and judge my progress through each by percentages instead of chapters or rough fractions. Such unnecessary accuracy.

Fulton Bank and banks associated with it are doing a promotion that you get a Free Kindle Fire once you open an account and meet certain criteria. So, with that said, I plan on getting a Kindle Fire in the not to distance future.

Any Kindle Fire owners use comiXology? Any other tablet owners us it? Comments? Positives? Negatives?

So here's something about the Kindle (or other e-readers, for all I know). I was talking to somebody about The Hunger Games today, and said that I'm reading the second book right now. He asked me how far in I was. I responded "Oh, not far. 15%". This is what I've noticed. Since I bought my Kindle I've read every new book on it, and judge my progress through each by percentages instead of chapters or rough fractions. Such unnecessary accuracy.

I like the percentages. "Halfway through the book" is a lot more obvious on a Kindle.